I searched the forums but did not see any threads related to eating Non-GMO \ Organic on induction. Has anyone attempted this? I cleaned out my kitchen of all GMO \ non-organic \ gluten \ franken-food \ artificial sweeteners. I then went to Whole Foods and shopped for organic veggies, cheese and meat. I also looked for bottled drinks that had no carbs or artificial sweetners. I found about 5 differnt things to try. I really liked a water called "Hint". Anyone try it?

DH and I had been having a lot of GI issues from eating SF products and I suspected we may have some gluten intolerance and I have been learning a lot of very disturbing info about GMO's so we decided we have to get that crap out of the house! I think it made a difference already, I'm down 2 lbs in 2 days, which is HUUUGGEE for me!!

I would love to hear from anyone else doing induction or any level Atkins using only organic \ non-GMO!

I gave up processed and packaged foods when I started Atkins, because I feel like *convenience* foods were my downfall -- it was just *too easy* to order a pizza or grab a sack full of chalupas and burritos on my way home. Now, I do veggie farm shares and I buy meat from a local family farm. Michigan -- especially the college town that I live in -- is probably one of the easiest places on Earth to get organic produce and free-range meat because the people here are very environmentally conscious.

Winter was kind of tough because the farms produced mostly root veggies, which are starchy and high-carb, and summer is kind of a festival of corn. But I've still been able to get some great leafy greens, and the summer squash was wonderful last year!

I buy "wild" seafood instead of "farmed" seafood. But I buy fish from the supermarket so I feel like it's kind of dubious, no matter how it's labeled. Not living near an ocean makes the seafood situation just generally more challenging...

I gave up processed and packaged foods when I started Atkins, because I feel like *convenience* foods were my downfall -- it was just *too easy* to order a pizza or grab a sack full of chalupas and burritos on my way home. Now, I do veggie farm shares and I buy meat from a local family farm. Michigan -- especially the college town that I live in -- is probably one of the easiest places on Earth to get organic produce and free-range meat because the people here are very environmentally conscious.

Winter was kind of tough because the farms produced mostly root veggies, which are starchy and high-carb, and summer is kind of a festival of corn. But I've still been able to get some great leafy greens, and the summer squash was wonderful last year!

I buy "wild" seafood instead of "farmed" seafood. But I buy fish from the supermarket so I feel like it's kind of dubious, no matter how it's labeled. Not living near an ocean makes the seafood situation just generally more challenging...

Thank you Trillex! That's so great! I hope we can eventually evolve into things like farm shares and shopping local family farms. We are just getting started on this (additional food) journey. Right now Whole Foods or Sprouts is the only source for Organic food with most of the products produced locally here in Colorado. But I would much rather buy direct from the local, organic growers.

I'm really glad to know other people are able to sucessfully do low carb while remaining organic! It was a lot more expensive but wow, the food quality was amazing compared to the crap we have been eating. I had become totally uninterested in eating anything lately. I'm excited about the produce and the cheese! The meat... well that is taking me a little to get used to. The flavor is so strong, I'm not used to that. We haven't attempted seafood yet. I want to look into that a little more before I attempt it. And I totally agree about being so far from the coast. We grew up on the coast of CA and seafood was plentiful. It's suspect here in CO, so far from the ocean!

I can't wait to see how the move to organic will positively impact our health, esp. DH who suffers miserably from GI issues.

Last edited by cmcd1070; 06-03-2013 at 12:51 PM..
Reason: forgot the seafood

I totally feel you on the meat! Big Stevie, over on Induction Babies, actually explained to me last summer why I don't like the free-range steaks as much as I like restaurant steaks -- apparently, restaurant steaks are "aged" for a period of time and these family farm steaks that I'm buying are not "aged." I like the texture when the free-range steaks are cooked over charcoal on the grill, but I really don't *love* them when they're cooked under the oven broiler. I've tried to find "aged" free-range steaks, but I haven't had any luck with local producers. Oh, well...

I should have posted this in my first reply but, I must admit, that I ignorantly think of Colorado as being COVERED with ranches, with fresh farm stands just everywhere! "Local Harvest" has a food locator that allows you to enter your zip code to find organic producers, or farm shares, or farmers markets, or organic ranchers. And it's a non-profit organization so there are user reviews and it relies on grass-roots participation from consumers.

"Farm Plate" is another non-profit that has a search engine that lets you search for specific food types in your local area. You can find artisinal cheesemakers and specific types of meat or dairy or produce.

In my experience, the farm shares and farmer's markets and independent artisans are cheaper than the big health food supermarkets -- I literally get bushels of produce for $20 and a freezer full of meat for $50. BUT you don't know what you're going to get each week from your farm share subscription. For example, there are weeks where my entire produce supply was starchy veggies so that's not *helpful* for a low-carb dieter. And some weeks -- especially in winter -- the farmer's market is all apples and pears and potatoes. So the health food supermarkets are way more convenient because you can get exactly what you want when you want it, and you aren't limited to getting what came out of the ground that week.

And the stuff that isn't grown in Michigan -- like avocados and salmon -- I have to buy at the supermarket, otherwise I wouldn't have access to them. But I've found that Costco actually has wild salmon and organically-grown avocados for cheaper than farm salmon and regular avocados cost at the *regular* supermarket. So I buy a big crate of avocados at Costco and refrigerate them, taking them out one at time to ripen the day before I plan to eat them.

I feel a TON better since I've been eating this way! But I'm not sure it it's because I've lost weight, or because I've given up starches and grains, or because I haven't any processed foods at all in the past year. But whatever the reason, I am super strong and have tons of stamina since I've been eating *real* food, instead of pizza and tacos.

Thank you for the links, I have been using them a lot =) I can feel the difference already eating organic and can absolutely tell the difference in DH. He used to suffer terribly from gastrointestinal problems and since going organic it has dramatically improved.

That makes total sense about the aged beef. I LOVE dry, aged beef! You can tell the grass-fed beef is not aged and it has a different texture and taste. I'm still eating more salads and veggies than protein. Organic, nitrate free, etc bacon and organic tomatos over organic romaine and organic ranch is my go-to food right now. I've been eating it every night for dinner! DH made some free-range chicken last night on the grill but I was full from the salad. I tasted it, it was... different. We ended up tossing it in the trash and neither one of us likes to waste food. So... still working on getting used to protein.

But the olives, cheese and produce... omg! I've never tasted food so good! DH is actually interviewing for a restaurant that is on farmplate.com, very cool!

I'm so glad the links are helpful! I don't know what I would have done without them because I'm not *from* Michigan, and I don't know the area well enough, so the online resources help a lot.

I'm just not a fan of chicken, in general. But I like duck a lot and I've had some delicious wild ducks. Since you're not loving the free range meats, have you considered things like wild caught fish and duck? They're out in the wild, so they're eating their natural diet and not being fed hormones and antibiotics and stuff. And the flavor of wild fish is definitely better than the flavor of farmed fish, in my opinion.

You're totally right! Duck is very gamey. It just has a flavor that I enjoy. Not everyone likes it, though. My brothers are not big fans of duck. I guess I like game. For example, I love deer meat. And rabbit.

I feel bad for eating *cute* animals like ducks and deer and bunnies. But I find them SO DELICIOUS!

oh really? That's good to know. I have never looked there because I went with my mom once and there were these 10 gallon jugs of mayo and stuff. I have a small kitchen with limited storage space. We buy fresh (really, after ice, there is no freezer room) for a couple of days at a time. But if I had a bigger house with a pantry... we love living in the heart of downtown but there are drawbacks.

I just started ordering organic fruits and veggies that features as much locally grown items as possible. It's delivered right to our door! The first shipment came today: 1/4 large watermelon, 2 lemons, 2 peaches, a bunch of rhubarb, a small container of blueberries, a bunch of swiss chard, 3 roma tomatoes, 8 russet potatoes, 4 med carrots, a bunch of asparagus, 1 small yellow onion, and a small container of crimini mushrooms. I was thrilled with the selection. The fruits and starchy veggies will be eaten by my twins and husband, while my oldest and myself get to enjoy everything else. I was also able to add 18 free-run organic eggs. All together it cost me $55.

Oh, I also saw organic lean ground beef at Costco today, for the first time, here in Winnipeg. Like GME said, they do have a good selection of organics.

I also started sprouting my own bean sprouts. It's super easy to do, mega-cheap, fun, and way better than what you buy in the store. I've heard scary things about how they're grown.

Wow, that's a great price for local, organic AND home delivery? I'm envious!!

I think we got started on the organics too late in the season and all the farm shares we wanted were already full and the only meat shares left were some ground beef. Next year we will be ready though. We are planning ahead =)